The Kendall Amphitheater, located in the Heights District of Korvosa hosts open-air performances.

Korvosa’s proximity to the sea and its extensive and famous Vaults make sinkholes a relatively common phenomena in the city. For the most part, these sinkholes measure no more than a few feet in diameter, leading the church of Abadar to send out crews of volunteers to patch up the streets or flooring.

Occasionally, though, these sinkholes expand to as much as a dozen feet or more in diameter. The open-air sea cave under the Posh and Turtle resulted from one such collapse. In 4579, the largest recorded sinkhole in
Korvosa’s history opened up just north of the Pillar Wall. Engulfing an area nearly 300 feet in diameter, this immense hole fortunately swallowed only a few buildings (thanks to it occurring in a relatively unpopulated part
of the city).

Unfortunately for the city, the sinkhole did not occur naturally, and for the first time the people of Korvosa came in contact with ankhegs that continue to infrequently plague the city. Completely unprepared for anything like ankhegs, the city fell into a panic. Desna’s good luck shined on Korvosa, though, as the Scions of Puris – an adventuring band of some repute at the time—happened to be nearby.

Without hesitation, the Scions of Puris delved into the sinkhole and, over the course of a few days, cleared it of ankheg threat. When they emerged the final time, though, they brought out their beloved leader, Mina Kendall, in a blood-stained bag.

In conjunction with the church of Abadar, dwarves from Janderhoff came down and stabilized the ground around the sinkhole. They built a series of supporting walls with narrow doorways that allowed access to the newly discovered Vault beyond, allowing additional construction near the hole.

Three years later, the Scions of Puris returned to Korvosa to witness the grand opening of a massive open-air auditorium the city named after their beloved former leader.

Today, Kendall Amphitheater partially hangs suspended above the sinkhole’s opening. A complicated series of arches and pillars holds it aloft, while two concealed sets of stairs allow descent into the large Vault beneath it. Most of the bowl that forms the seating area for Kendall Amphitheater consists of carefully smoothed basalt. The benches, stage, and partial roof are all built of Varisian spruce. Directly beneath the stage hangs a second floor made of red pine that houses various mechanical contraptions to lift platforms up to the stage.

While the amphitheater primarily hosts open-air performances (as well as performances done beneath the vast sloped roof covering most of the stage), it does occasionally present games and contests. Due to safety concerns (as ankheg seem drawn by the smell of blood), none of the games involve actual combat or bloodshed. Instead, feats of strength, races, obstacle courses, and other such contests prove quite popular with the patrons and
amphitheater owners.

Kendall Vault, the large cave complex beneath the amphitheater, occasionally receives visitors in the forms of explorers seeking new passages, Korvosan Guards patrolling for new outbreaks of ankheg, and Janderhoff dwarves looking for subtle clues of further erosion. Even after more than a hundred years of stability, the dwarves staunchly insist on performing the inspection twice a decade. They remind their short-sighted human friends that a hundred years means as little to stone as a second does to them.

Plaza of Scions

Directly northwest of Kendall Amphitheater stand tall statues of the Scions of Puris: the beautiful Mina Kendall (in the center), irascible Nurin Dutirrinog (to the south), and ever-pious Xanen Ptal (to the north). These statues mark the divide between the covered stage of the amphitheater and the brick-paved Plaza of Scions.